The Wells Building was designed by Henry Koch, and despite an ongoing modernization project, it maintains its historic charm. Prioritizing performance and comfort, the building owners took a holistic approach to renovations by scrapping outdated infrastructure and starting fresh with a new backbone to build off. As a result, the building now offers custom-built office suites and maintains its legacy as the most connected office building in Wisconsin, housing over thirty data and telecommunication carriers.
The Wells Building has had a longstanding relationship with the City of Milwaukee, previously working with the Me2 program to receive a grant that played a critical role in completing their HVAC retrofit. Because of their previous success working with the City, when Milwaukee took the Better Buildings Challenge pledge in 2012, the Wells Building was quick to join.
Retrofitting older buildings while preserving historic architecture certainly brings challenges - it gets really expensive and it's hard to find the rental stream to generate adequate margins. The City's help was critical in getting our HVAC project done, which has allowed better building performance, a better experience for our tenants, and an economic benefit over time by saving money. Eric Nordeen, Principal, Ascendant Holdings
The ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® is not yet set up for the Wells Building, but it is expected that the account will be set up and shared in the near future to allow tracking of the building's energy consumption. However, based on the building’s records and estimations, they will be able to cut 17 million gallons of water consumption per year and reduce their energy consumption by 25% as a result of their efficiency upgrades.
The Wells Building looks forward to working with the Better Buildings Challenge to accurately benchmark the office energy data separate from the data center usage.
Plug Loads & Controls
Building Envelope
Appliances & Equipment
On-Site Generation
The Wells Building is currently installing a new sprinkler system and is continuing to replace outdated fixtures and appliances as tenants move out. The building also plans to participate in the Better Buildings Challenge program's benchmarking event in August 2017.
Address 324 E Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Year Built 1902
Size 160,000 sq ft
Building Type Mixed Use - Office, Retail, Telecom & Data Center
Owner A.H. Wells, LLC (Ascendant Holdings, LLC)
Website wellsbuilding.com
Joined Pledge 2012
Goals: 20% reduction in Energy Use Intensity by 2022
Baseline TBD
Program Participation
Project Types
Project Highlight: HVAC
Installing a new energy-efficient heating and cooling system has allowed the Wells Building to save 17 million gallons of water consumption per year.
Building Contact
Eric Nordeen Principal, Ascendant Holdings, LLC [email protected]
Why Participate?
The Wells Building took the pledge to best utilize the program's resources, particularly financing programs like PACE. To create the type of building performance and quality experience desired for tenants, building management recognized that it would be crucial to benefit economically over time by saving energy.